Whatever Will Be, Will Be
by Grommetik
Summary: Cedric Diggory's final year on earth was spent pursuing Cho Chang. This is how it happened.
1. Cedric the Champion

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WHATEVER WILL BE, WILL BE

A story by pixiepoop

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FOREWORD BY PIXIEPOOP.   
First of all I have to acknowledge my beloved beta-reader, Elanor Gamgee (or Cap'n Kathy of the good ship R/H) who was the driving force and inspiration behind this story. Without her encouragement I certainly would not have continued with it. (so if you don't like it blame her). Second of all I should probably say that I don't own any of the characters, or indeed, the plot, because J.K. Rowling wrote them. Let us all bow down and praise Her. And thirdly I should say that I love reviews, even if they're reviews that say "You can't write. Stop it." because it's always nice to have some idea of what people think.   
So anyway. Er…I hope you like it. 

***

"He's looking at you again."

Cho Chang looked up briefly from the _Daily Prophet _and frowned. "Who?"

"Who else?" Lorla Quirke, who was seated on Cho's right side and happened to be her best friend, nodded towards the Gryffindor table. "The school _champion_."

Cho blinked and looked in the direction her friend was indicating. Lorla was quite right- Harry Potter was gazing at her from his seat at the Gryffindor table. It wasn't the first time she'd caught him doing this, either. Lorla raised her eyebrows at Cho suggestively. 

"Third time this week," she remarked. "He must reeeeally like the scenery around here."

"Must he?' Cho said rolling her eyes. Far from dismissing the frequent amount of times Cho had caught Harry giving her the gaze, as Cho had done, Lorla seemed to have interpreted it in an entirely embarrassing way, and was now convinced Harry was desperately in love with Cho. It was utterly ridiculous of course, and they both knew it, but that didn't stop Lorla from teasing her about it.

Cho smiled and waved at Harry. He seemed quite taken aback, and blinked a little. He waved back and then looked back down at his breakfast. No sooner had he done so, however, than he got up and left the table with the curly haired girl who seemed to be his constant companion.

"You scared him off," Lorla observed. "That's new. Usually it's the other way round." 

Cho chose to ignore that remark and instead said, "Pass the milk please."

Roger Davies, captain of the Quidditch team and seated opposite her, obligingly shoved the pitcher of milk towards her. "Not too much," he warned, "that's full cream milk. I don't care if we're not having a Quidditch season this year- I won't have you getting out of shape." 

Cho ignored this as well, and poured it over her cereal. Harry was still making his way out of the Hall.

"Wonder what _he's_ got to look so upset about?" Mandy Brocklehurst, a fourth year seated on Cho's left side, was staring at Harry with nothing less than spite. Cho didn't bother to rebuke her, although it was quite obvious that Harry _did_ have something to be upset about. As he walked past the Hufflepuff table several jeers from the students greeted him. The Slytherin students at the next table laughed nastily and imitated them. One voice rang out above the rest. Cho could hear it from her place at the Ravenclaw table.

"Hey, Potty! Can I have your autograph? It might be worth a Knut or two!"

Spiteful laughter rang out. "Hey Potty!" someone else cried out, picking up the taunt. "King of the wimps!"

"Spotty Potty! Where's your crown, Spotty Potty?"

Cho immediately looked up at the teachers' table, to see if Dumbledore was going to do anything about the taunting. But the headmaster wasn't there, and Harry walked out of the Hall with his head held high and staring determinedly straight ahead. The curly haired girl was clutching his arm and muttering something very fast in his ear.

"Huh!" Mandy said, as she finished her breakfast and got up from her seat. "His girlfriend's obviously shameless, sticking around with _him_. See you guys later."

"Bye Mandy," Cho said absentmindedly. 

"You'd think they'd do something about it," Lorla murmured. But no one did; Professor McGonagall was also absent from breakfast, Professors Sprout and Flitwick frowned disapprovingly but most of the other teachers simply looked down at their plates uncomfortably, as if too ashamed of Harry to do anything about it. Professor Snape was actually smiling, as was the Headmaster of Durmstrang, what was his name? Professor Castor-Oil or something like that. Cho didn't like the look of him. He smiled at the Slytherins in a way very similar to Professor Snape's smirk, and twirled his greasy little goatee around his finger. 

It took a while for the unkind laughter to die down even after Harry had left the Hall. Cho frowned, wondering where this sudden fluctuation in hostility had come 

from. Ever since Harry had been announced the fourth school champion on Halloween, he'd been labelled a school outcast, but it was unusual for students to be so blatant about expressing any dislike they held for him. Especially in front of the teachers like that. 

"That's a little odd," she murmured to herself. "What set them off?"

"Hmm?" Lorla said.

"Nothing," said Cho, shaking her head. In any case, she didn't really have the time or energy to wonder about it. It made her a little indignant, but it wasn't her problem. Harry looked perfectly able to cope with such things. 

"Oh no," Lorla sighed suddenly, "Here comes the French lot."

Lorla obviously wasn't the only one to notice either- boys from all different tables turned to look as their guests from Beauxbatons entered the Hall. Madame Maxime and Professor Dumbledore led the way, talking quietly. Madame Maxime was looking distinctly disgruntled about something, but as Professor Dumbledore continued talking, she smiled, almost unwillingly, as though Dumbledore had coaxed her into a good mood.

"Very well, Dumbly-door," she purred, as they approached the Ravenclaw table, "You may sit," she added to her students, as they obediently filed into a respectful line in front of her. Dumbledore and Madame Maxime strolled off together towards the teachers' table, still talking, while her students chose seats at the Ravenclaw table. 

A very irritated voice sounded above Cho's head. "Is thees seat taken?" 

Roger Davies looked up at the girl who had addressed him, the blonde champion of Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour, and dropped the kipper he was holding. 

Lorla rolled her eyes at Cho in disgust as Roger stammered and leapt up to pull out the chair for her. 

"Sure, you're more than welcome! Is that okay? Can I get you anything?" Roger stammered enthusiastically, "Want a kipper? Lovely weather isn't it?"

Fleur, however, didn't seem to be in the mood for small talk. She had an expression on her face similar to the one Madame Maxime had been wearing moments earlier, except even more so.

"What's the matter?" Lorla asked, heavily sarcastic, "Split a hair?"

Cho suppressed a smile. Fleur didn't seem to have caught the joke.

"No!" she snapped, "'Ave you not seen ze newspaper zis morning?"

She frowned at the copy of the Daily Prophet Cho was still holding in her hands. "Zat!" she spat, "Zat rideeculous publication! It is full of lies and propaganda! You 'Ogwarts students are always building yourselves up to be such heroes! _Fi donc_!"

Roger blinked at her. "We're…we're not all that bad, surely?"

"No, we're _not_," Lorla said sharply. 

"Well, no, not all of you," Fleur said, suddenly brightening as she spotted something over Cho's shoulder. "Just that leetle boy…"

"What _leetle boy_?" Lorla said, deliberately mocking Fleur's heavy French accent. Cho snorted into her cereal, trying to turn her laughter into a cough. 

"Oh, you know," Fleur said impatiently, still looking at whatever she had seen, "Zat leetle boy 'oo is ze false school champion! Ze Potter boy."

"Oh, him," said Lorla, and fell silent. 

Cho finally spoke up. "He didn't _ask_ to become school champion," she pointed out.

"Well, 'ee should not have deigned to put 'is name in ze Goblet of Fire!" Fleur shot back.

"Oh, Sacray blue!" Lorla cried melodramatically. "How dare he! The English pig!" 

Fleur had obviously cottoned onto Lorla's taunting, and tried to wither her with a look. Unfortunately for Fleur, she didn't know what a waste of time trying to wither Lorla was. Lorla's exuberance and blunt honesty had got her into a trouble more than once, as had her notoriously bad temper, something Lorla put down to her red hair. "It's the curse of the redheads ," she'd 

protest, when told to calm down, "I can't _help _it." Cho sometimes wondered why Lorla was sorted into Ravenclaw, because, though she was incredibly clever and quick-witted, her intelligence was quite overshadowed by her bravery and guts. For all her shortcomings, though, Lorla had proved herself time and again to be the best type of friend- unwaveringly loyal.

"I'm not entirely sure it was something he did on purpose, you know," Cho said thoughtfully, more than anything to divert Fleur's attention away from Lorla before something was said that would be regretted later. "I mean…his face when they pulled it out of the Goblet," Cho continued, "It was so surprised, I don't think he intended to become school champion. Maybe it was just a joke." She gestured with her hands around the Great Hall. "In any case, he doesn't deserve to be treated so badly."

Fleur was now looking at Cho incredulously, as though no one had ever dared to challenge her opinion before.

"Are you trying to say zat 'ee _deserves_ zee honour? Zat zee chance most of us would die for should be rewarded to 'im because 'ee wanted to play a _joke_?"

"Heaven forbid," Lorla muttered.

"All I'm saying is," Cho said reasonably, "is that he seems to have been pushed into the situation unwillingly. As far as I can tell." She frowned, "And I _don't_ see why everyone's being so horrible to him all of a sudden. What did he do, kill a judge?"

"Haven't you read the paper this morning?" a voice said behind Cho, making her jump. The voice's owner was identified almost immediately, as Fleur's expression quickly melted from highly irritated to opulently charming. 

"_Bonjour_, Cedric," she crooned. Cedric Diggory, his hands resting on the back of Cho's chair, shot Fleur an easy smile. 

"Hi, Fleur." He looked back down at Cho. "And good morning Cho."

"Hi," Cho said shortly. Cedric nodded towards Roger and then sat down in the unoccupied seat next to Cho. Lorla gave her a little nudge under the table and grinned at Cedric. "Hi, Cedric, how's it going?"

"Great. Yourself?" 

"Fantastic!" Lorla shot him a dazzling smile. Cho rolled her eyes at Lorla's obvious flirtation as Cedric settled himself more comfortably in the chair. 

Cho liked Cedric. She really did but- that was the thing, it was impossible _not_ to like him. Partly because of the stubborn streak in her, no matter how many times she denied its existence, Cho hated being told what to do. She hated being forced into anything, and she hated being manipulated. She had automatically been compelled to like Cedric, preceding their first meeting, after hearing nothing but good things about him, and then after meeting him, liked him more than she had previously imagined. She prided herself on being a very egalitarian sort of person, and not letting a person's reputation cloud her own opinion of them. But Cho thought Cedric's reputation must have affected her judgement. She didn't know him that well, but she knew he must have _some_ faults. Everyone had faults.

Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and star performer on the pitch, Cedric Diggory was possibly the most popular boy at the school- presently, anyway. His popularity and sporting talent did nothing to affect his affability, and he remained good-natured, kind and decent. As was the way with all people who seemed so flawless, he made Cho nervous. (She always told herself her discomfort had nothing to do with Cedric's obvious good looks either.) The conversations they _had_ had always revolved around Quidditch, a subject Cho herself was quite passionate about. But Cedric had been playing Quidditch for quite a bit longer than she , and by comparison, she felt like her own talent for the game was dwarfed by his. 

Not that she had any doubts about her abilities-being the only girl on her own Quidditch team didn't make her feel left out- it made her feel special, and her male team-mates 

did nothing to dissuade this. As charming a person as he was, Cho tried not to have any romantic or silly view of Cedric Diggory. He appeared to be perfect, but Cho knew there must be some major fault or nasty character trait lurking behind those large grey eyes and 

that handsome face. 

Presently he was flashing her his trademark knee-buckling smile, and he took the newspaper from her hand.

"Sorry. Couldn't help overhearing," he said quietly. "Maybe you should read current events instead of the sports pages."

He flipped back to the front page- which Cho had ignored after barely glancing at the cover- and held the article in front of her face. It was headed by a large obnoxious headline:

__

Hogwarts Hero A Real Champion

She met Cedric's eyes and then turned back to the paper with a frown. Lorla read over her shoulder. 

__

This year marks a milestone for both Hogwarts school and its resident Champion, Harry Potter. Famous since birth for his defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Harry once again shows his true shining colours as on October thirty-first he was singled out by his strength as the champion of Hogwarts to compete in the fabled Triwizard Tournament, which will take place at Hogwarts this year, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent._  
In the tournament, Harry will not only be confronted with tasks that are magically advanced for a boy of his age, but he will also be competing against students from two of the other leading wizarding schools in Europe, Beauxbatons Academy and Durmstrang Institute.  
An attractive and fascinating young man, Harry remains down-to-earth and modest despite the enormous popularity he has received since first coming to Hogwarts at age eleven.  
"I often come out here by myself just to reflect on how lucky I am," he says, as he shows me his own personal place for reflection, along the shore of the lake in the picturesque Hogwarts grounds. "I've got everything I could ever want here- I know I've been blessed, and I thank God for every day because of that."  
An ugly scar, souvenir of a tragic past, disfigures the otherwise charming face of Harry Potter, whose eyes reflect a pain that one does not often see in such a young boy.  
"I would call my past traumatic, yes- it's made me keen to prove myself and live up to my name. I know I wasn't supposed to enter the tournament but I wanted to show everyone that I wasn't just a famous name- I'm much more than that."  
Tears fill those startlingly green eyes as our conversation turns to the parents he can barely remember._

"I suppose I get my strength from my parents, I know they'd be very proud of me if they could see me now," the fourteen-year-old boy wonder said, "Yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it…I know nothing will hurt me during the tournament because they're watching over me."  
And not just his parents- but someone else special too. Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl who, like Harry, is one of the top students at the school. 

The article went on and on- continuing from page two onto pages six and seven- Cho skimmed through the sickening article until she found the last paragraph:

__

Harry may well have his work cut out for him, despite his amazing talent both on the sporting field and in the classroom. "As long as I believe in myself and think of my parents, I feel safe. I know it's not going to be easy but it's a mountain I can climb. If I can accomplish this, I know I can do anything."  
The other school champions are Fleur Delamour (from Beauxbatons) and Quidditch star Victor Krum (of Durmstrang).

"I have a feeling this is what everyone's so upset about," Cedric said, neatly folding the paper and tucking it under Cho's plate.

Fleur's eyes flashed. "Do you not sink it is an outrage? It does not even mention ze _true_ school champions until ze last paragraph!"

"Que sera, sera," Cedric said, giving her a sheepish grin and shrugging. "You've got to make allowances. He is the famous Harry Potter and all that." 

"Huh!" Fleur made a very unimpressed noise. "I sink it is a disgrace, first 'ee puts 'imself into ze competition, zen 'ee refuses to let anyone else receive ze publicity."

"Yeah," said Lorla loudly and sarcastically, "An absolute outrage. That should be your head plastered on every newspaper in the country. We've _all_ suffered a great loss."

Fleur didn't miss the barb in that comment. Neither it seemed, did Cedric. He caught Lorla's eye and gave her a wink. "You've got a point, Lorla," he said, getting to his feet. Fleur's attention immediately returned to Cedric, and she preened in a way that made even Cho feel disgusted.

"Oh Cedric, you are too much!" she simpered. He grinned.

"Gee, thanks, Fleur. See you later, everyone. Bye Cho." His hand grazed Cho's shoulder as he left, very slightly, and Cho registered this fact subconsciously. Lorla gave a little groan. "He's so _hot_." She glanced at Cho. "Are you all right?"

"Mmmm," Cho murmured, idly picking up the paper again and quickly dismissing Cedric Diggory and his perfect teeth from her mind. This was far more interesting. "I guess can see the point Fleur's making…" she said slowly, after a few moments contemplation. Fleur nodded and looked satisfied. "But…I don't know. Something about this article seems fake. I think there's been a bit of paraphrasing in here. Not entirely honest paraphrasing, either." She sighed, shrugged and stuffed the paper in her bag. "I think everyone's making a big deal over nothing. He's just a kid. He's not hurting anyone."

Fleur looked suitably outraged. "Not '_urting_ anyone? Ze only people zat aren't going to be 'urt are 'Ogwarts, wiz zeir _deux champions_!" She seemed to have had enough. "I 'ave to go. I must return to ze carriage."

"We'd better go too," Lorla said, unable to suppress a smirk, as Fleur made a great show of swishing her hair as she walked off. "Bye, Roger."

Roger was staring in a fixated fashion at Fleur's retreating back. Lorla rolled her eyes and gave him a smack on the head as they walked past.

"Oh, grow up, idiot."

***

End of Chapter One. Obviously. (PS what did you think?)


	2. Cedric the One and Only

The article was printed in the week before the tournament began, and it became a hot topic for gossip around the school. Heads turned wherever Harry went, and the sound of jeers heralded his entrance into any corridor or classroom. Not just Harry either- the only person in the school who seemed to have remained his friend, the curly haired girl who never left his side (who appeared to be named Hermione Granger), was getting a fair share of unpleasantness as well. Cho made a conscious effort to roll her eyes at anyone who threw the odd insult or two at Harry and his girlfriend, but most of the time she was too focused on other things to worry about how Harry was handling things. They were barely friends, after all- who was she to start defending him?

One day as Cho was hurrying to class, late for Transfiguration, she happened to spot Harry stalking through the corridor ahead of her. She briefly considered giving him a few words of encouragement- he looked like he needed it- when she saw that he had dropped his quill.

"Hey- Harry!" she called, jogging to catch up to him.

"Yeah, that's right!" Harry shouted, catching Cho by surprise as he whirled angrily around to face her, "I've just been crying my eyes out over my dead mum, and I'm just off to do a bit more…" His mouth dropped open a little as he saw her. Cho was taken aback. What did he think she had stopped him for?

"No- it was just- you dropped your quill," she said in bewilderment, holding it up.

Harry immediately blushed, looking ashamed. "Oh-right-sorry," he muttered. He busied himself with 

putting it back in his bag, still bright red in the face, as Cho dithered around simply leaving or giving him a friendly word.

"Er…good luck on Tuesday," she said, smiling encouragingly at him, "I really hope you do well."

Harry blushed even redder, if that were possible. "Thanks," he muttered. "Er… Sorry about…"

"That's okay," Cho said gently. 

He shouldered his bag. "Bye," he muttered, looking incredibly uncomfortable and sheepish.

"See ya," Cho said cheerfully. Harry turned on his heel and walked off down the corridor, seemingly anxious to get away from her.

Cho shook her head and turned off in the opposite direction, towards her Transfiguration classroom. No sooner had she started walking again, however, than a voice called out her name.

"Hey Cho."

It was Cedric Diggory, jogging to catch up with her. Cho, to her immediate irritation, felt her stomach do a little flip-flop. They had always exchanged smiles or greetings in the corridors, but ever since that morning the article came out Cedric had been stopping to have conversations with her. It wasn't that she minded, she just found it a little perplexing. Lorla was convinced Cedric had developed an interest in her, but Cho didn't believe it. Why should Cedric Diggory, still-perfect-six-foot-school-champion be interested in _her_? She was too sensible to even contemplate such a ridiculous suggestion. But the most irritating thing was, she _had_ been contemplating the ridiculous suggestion. 

Somehow Cedric had crept into her daydreams during History of Magic, and if she let her eyes wander during breakfast, lunch or dinner, they would wander over to the Hufflepuff table to see if he was there. The whole thing was disorienting, and Cho didn't like the sensation. 

For once Cedric was bereft of the small knot of admirers that had taken to following him around the corridors. "Late for class, I see," he observed cheerfully as he slowed down to walk with her. "Who've you got now?"

"Professor McGonagall," Cho answered, feeling very short. Cedric was at least two and a half feet taller than her, and being around him always made her feel very self-conscious about her meagre height. Though that wasn't new- she was the shortest girl in fifth year after all.

"Ah. You're in trouble then," he said loftily.

"Don't remind me," Cho muttered. Cedric gave a delighted laugh.

"Never mind. You can say you were called to the aid of the school champion," he laughed.

Cho looked up at him questioningly.

Cedric gave her a smile and jerked his thumb back down the corridor. "Saw you back there with Harry," he said, by way of an answer. "Good to see not everyone's got it in for the kid." 

Cho shrugged, but at the same time, felt a little bit pleased that Cedric had seen, knowing that someone as kind as Cedric thought she was a decent person herself. "I think everyone's making a big deal over nothing. They'll probably pull him out after the first task. He's only in fourth year after all- he won't be able to handle it."

Cedric ran a hand through his hair. "Ah, I dunno. Think you might be underestimating him. He's got guts, and it's not like he isn't used to stuff like this," he said, and Cho had to admit Cedric had a point. Everyone knew about Harry's escapades since coming to Hogwarts- such as in his first year, when he'd vanquished Quirrel, who apparently had been taken over by Lord Voldemort, and then again in second year, when the story went that Harry had fought and killed a giant snake under the school.

"I suppose so," she said. "But I still wish everyone would give him a break."

"Mmm," Cedric agreed thoughtfully, carelessly running his had along the smooth stone wall. "It'd take the pressure off me, for one thing."

"Huh?" Cho said, and immediately felt stupid.

"You know," he said, shrugging his shoulders again (which, Cho noticed, were very broad and muscular), "Everyone's expecting to me to cream Potter in the first task. To show him up, you know. For _daring _to become school champion." There was a derisive tone to his voice as he said the last part, as though he thought the students voicing that opinion were idiots. Cho happened to 

agree.

"Don't you think you will?" she asked in surprise. She was under the assumption Cedric was perfectly confident about the coming first task. "I mean, he's in fourth year and you're in seventh. You've got a pretty big advantage."

"I think you're still underestimating Potter," Cedric said, "He's intimidating enough on the Quidditch pitch, and at the moment, facing the task, we're both equal." His expression suddenly became a lot more serious and he fixed her with a grave grey-eyed stare. "None of us know what's coming. It could be absolutely anything, and…" he trailed off, and smiled again, and laughed for no reason, as if to eradicate any seriousness the situation might hold "Ah well. Qué sera, sera, I suppose. Isn't that your Transfigs classroom back there?" 

Cho had walked right past it without thinking. She felt colour rising in her cheeks. "Right."

Cedric laughed again, and then said, as if he had just thought of it- "Hey- are you going on the Hogsmeade trip this weekend?"

"Um, yeah," Cho said, as she stopped in front of the door. He grinned.

"Great. See you then." He jogged off to his next class, leaving Cho to face the wrath of McGonagall.


	3. Cedric the Human

"It's so ridiculous," Lorla expostulated, as they sat at a table in the Three Broomsticks that weekend. "Those stupid badges." She looked askance at Georgia Greenwood, a fellow fifth year Ravenclaw who was sporting one of the large _Support CEDRIC DIGGORY _badges on her cloak.

Georgia looked indignant. "I'm just showing support for the Hogwarts champions."

"Yeah, but-" Lorla reached over and pressed the badge, and it glowed green with its alternative message: "_POTTER STINKS_". "You can't call _that_ support." 

"Okay then, support for the _real_ Hogwarts champion."

Cho strongly suspected the badges had been put into circulation by the Slytherins, who seemed to be delighted that the whole school was, for once, joining them in their antagonising of Harry, whom they had always despised.

"You're only wearing that because you're lusting after Cedric," Lorla pointed out.

"As a matter of fact," Georgia said pompously, drawing her cloak tighter around her, "I happen to think this stunt of Potter's is just to get more attention. Everyone knows Cedric got in on real talent, and not just for having a scar on his head."

Lorla screwed up her nose in disgust. "You sound like a _Slytherin_," she said, making it sound like the foulest thing on earth. Everyone laughed and Georgia went pink.

"I do not!" she declared hotly.

"Yeah, sure. Look there's Draco Malfoy and his slimy Slytherin mates. You can go join them."

"Yuck!" Georgia squealed, and everyone laughed again.

Cho shook her head at them in mock despair. Lorla could never resist picking on Georgia, who had always been a bit stocky and self-absorbed. She tended to complain a lot and became absolutely useless under pressure, but lately Cho had seen a change in Georgia- more of a will to stand up for herself. Cho had always encouraged Georgia to be less co-dependant. 

"You have to agree with me though," Georgia said defensively as the laughter died down. "I mean, it's so _obvious_."

"I don't know," Ariana Hedgewhistle said, thoughtfully stirring her butterbeer. "He seems to be a bit put out by the whole thing."

"That's true," Islean van Tassel agreed, shaking her mop of blonde curls, "although Georgia certainly has a point," she added a moment later.

"As if," Lorla muttered. "You're _all_ being ridiculous." Georgia opened her mouth to deliver a cutting remark, but just then a distraction entered the pub in the form of Fred and George Weasley. They were identical twins in the year above Cho, and she knew them only on a 

Quidditch-related basis, as they played the position of Beaters on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. They were known notoriously around the school for their mischievousness, and were the archenemies of the school caretaker, Filch. Everything they did was noisy and exuberant, and today was no exception, as they burst into the pub in the midst of an argument with their younger brother. He was a tall and freckled fourth year, and someone Cho only vaguely recognised, as last year the mass murderer Sirius Black had broken into school and tried to attack him- 

or so the story went. He had bright red hair just like the twins and a sulky expression on his face. What was his name again? Ryan? Ross?

"…know, Ron," said one of the twins in an exasperated tone, as Cho tuned into their conversation, "If the both of you weren't so bloody stubborn…"

"It's none of our business of course," amended the other twin, "but you could always just go and, oh, say…_apologise_?"

Ron muttered something inaudible in response.

"Whatever," sighed the twin who had first spoken.

"It's no skin off our noses," the other twin said with raised eyebrows.

"Good," snapped Ron.

The twin who had first spoken paused briefly as they made their way past Cho's table.

"Hey, Cho," he said. 

"Hi," she answered. "How are you?"

"Fine, if you don't account for my unfortunate anal rash," he quipped. Cho wasn't sure if he was serious or joking, so she nodded. Lorla snorted into her butterbeer and the twin grinned at her, and perched on the arm of her chair.

"Hey Cho," the other twin said, as his identical brother struck up a conversation with the rest of the group.

"Hi," she said again.

"Oh!" said the twin, and pointed to her school tie as though he had spotted something on it. She looked down, but the moment she did so the twin brought his hand up, hitting her lightly on the chin. He grinned. "Better keep those reflexes sharp. There's always next year's Quidditch, you know."

"I haven't forgotten."

"Just making sure, dollface."

Ron was standing awkwardly aside, scratching his nose. Cho gave him a friendly smile and he managed to return it. "I'll go and get us a table," he muttered to the twin who had hit Cho's chin.

"We'll come," the first twin said, hopping off Lorla's chair. "Nice talking to you, girls. See you round, Cho."

"Sure," she said, returning his playful grin. The twins walked off, shoving each other, while their little brother walked behind. There was a definite droop to his shoulders, and on closer observance, Cho realised the look on his face wasn't so much sulky as it was just plain…sad. She wondered briefly what the trouble might be, but then dismissed the matter, and turned back to her friend's conversation.

"Talk about cute," Lorla said, craning her neck to get a better look at where the twins were sitting, now joined by a sixth year named Lee Jordan, whom Cho didn't know very well.

"Talk about _obvious_," said Georgia smugly, obviously pleased to have got Lorla in a compromising position, "If you don't stop looking then they'll know you like them."

"What's wrong with that?" Lorla said. "If I don't tell them then they'll never know. I'm not going to sit around waiting for some boy to ask me out when it's perfectly in my power to do the same to them."

"The _boy_ is supposed to ask the _girl_," Georgia argued, "that's how it's done."

"Get real," Ariana said. "That concept is dead. Gone with the fifties and rainbow suspenders."

"Rainbow _whats_?" Islean asked, as Georgia looked indignant.

"It's proper," said Georgia, drawing herself up pompously. 

"It's stupid," said Lorla, and Ariana and Islean murmured their agreement. 

"What do _you_ think, Cho?" Georgia asked.

Cho considered for a moment. "I think…" she said, after a pause, "That it's a bit romantic for us to expect the boys to come running around after us. Ideally that would be the way, but unless we're built like a veela with a face to match I don't know if that would happen."

"Exactly," Lorla said triumphantly, "We have every right to ask the boys out."

"On the other hand," said Islean, "Nothing's sorrier than a desperate woman."

"I wonder why?" mused Ariana.

"Well, it's because boys just _assume_ that we want a deep emotional attachment to them while all they want is sex," Lorla declared.

"Don't you believe in fate?" Georgia cried, "That everyone has a soul mate and that you'll be brought together by destiny?"

The pub door opened again, and a slight drop in the noise level succeeded this as everyone saw who it was- Harry Potter's girlfriend, Hermione Granger.

She looked nervously around until she spotted someone and gave them a timid little wave. Cho looked where she was looking- at Ron Weasley, who gave her a little wave back and then turned back to his brothers. 

She murmured something to herself and took a few hesitant steps in. She put her arm out to the side and murmured something to herself again, then pointed to an empty table across the pub. She paused, then nodded, and went off to the counter to get drinks.

"Weird," muttered Lorla.

"I suppose being _his_ girlfriend would drive anyone mad." Georgia said spitefully, and Cho frowned. 

"That's not very nice, Georgia," she pointed out quietly. Cho tried not to reprimand Georgia very often- the girl was self-conscious enough as it was- but it was unlike Georgia to simply make spiteful comments like that for the hell of it, and Cho suspected she was doing it for attention. "She's not mad. She's very brave. She's sticking by her boyfriend when the rest of the school is ostracising him. That's not mad, that's pure guts. She must really believe in him and love him a lot to do that, don't you think? She's to be admired." 

Georgia blushed and looked down, fiddling with her _Support CEDRIC DIGGORY_ badge. "To get back to the _point_," Lorla said, interrupting the thoughtful silence that had fallen over the table, "Destiny's a load of crap, George."

"It's not!" said Georgia, immediately rising to the challenge and forgetting her shame in a millisecond, "And it will bring everyone together with their soul mate before they die."

"Oh yeah? My Aunt Ignatia died alone. How do you explain that?"

"Well, she…" Georgia said, and paused while she tried to think of an argument. "She probably didn't believe in fate's plan for her, and denied its path."

"Too right," said Lorla. "And plus, someone had transfigured her feet into cabbages when she was sixteen. Surprisingly enough, men don't find stinky vegetables in place of feet very attractive. Right Cho?"

"Mmmm," said Cho, slightly distracted as she saw Hermione Granger heading to a spare table in the corner carrying _two_ mugs of Butterbeer. 

"You are being kind of cynical, Lor," Ariana said reasonably. "Mr. Right could walk through that door any second. Would you just ignore it?"

"I probably would," Lorla said stoutly, "unless he was devastatingly handsome, rich, and with abs you could slice cheese on."

"Speaking of which!" Georgia exclaimed, as the door swung open a third time and admitted a new customer, "Here comes Mr. Right now!"

Cho swivelled in her chair to see who he was, although the excited look on Georgia's face and the smattering of applause that greeted "Mr. Right" as he entered had pretty much answered that question for her.

"Hi, Cedric!" two fourth year Hufflepuffs cried as he came in, accompanied by a couple of his seventh year friends.

"Hi Hannah, hi Ernie," Cedric said amiably, waving back.

"I'll get a table for us," one of his mates murmured.

"I'll get the drinks," the other one said. Cedric nodded, and went to follow his first friend to the table, when he happened to see Cho and her friends. He smiled and made his way over.

"Hi Cedric!" Georgia cried eagerly as he approached.

"Hello," Cedric said, leaning casually on the arm of Cho's chair. "How's it going?"

"Good!" chorused Cho's friends.

"We're _really_ looking forward to Tuesday!" Georgia said breathlessly, never taking her shining eyes off his handsome face, "I just _know_ you're going to win."

"At least one of us does," Cedric said, his smile faltering a little. He moved his elbow slightly and it brushed Cho's glossy black hair.

"D'you know what the first task is?" questioned Lorla.

Cedric shook his head. "None of us do. It's going to be a big surprise for everyone." He looked down at Cho. "I ran into that writer outside, what's her name? The one that wrote that thing on Harry?"

"Rita Skeeter," Islean supplied.

"That's the one- and she seemed to be under the impression I knew as well. But I don't." A slightly troubled expression passed over his face for a moment or two. Cho recognised the expression from the conversation two days ago in the corridors. He was worried about the task, anyone could see that. But who wouldn't be? Cho couldn't even imagine how frustrating it must feel to face a task that was so impossible, going up against an unknown assignment and expected to perform like a champion in front of the whole school. Not only the whole school, either- most of the wizarding world was excited to hear that the Triwizard Tournament was on again, and there was bound to be loads of publicity, if only about Harry.

"Scary stuff," Lorla said. "Oh well. Sucks to be you."

"It does, doesn't it?" Cedric said with a good-natured laugh. 

"Don't look so sad- you are school _champion_," Islean pointed out.

"Well, one of them, at least," Ariana admitted.

"I don't think Potter has the right to call himself a champion." Georgia snorted. "It's not as though he's ever done anything _really_ _important_. What?" she exclaimed, as everyone at the table began to laugh at the plain absurdity of her statement. Cedric caught Cho's eye and gave her a smile- and for a moment or two held her gaze while her friends laughed. He didn't say anything, just smiled at her in a way that was almost- intimate. Almost as though they had a special, private joke. Cho herself was caught off guard- too surprised to say anything, although she could feel her face burning. Somewhere above the background noises of the pub they could hear Hagrid the groundskeeper bellowing something -"All righ' Hermione?"

Cedric swivelled to look where Hagrid was, and the moment was broken. Cho, glad for the distraction, quickly took a sip of her butterbeer, letting her hair fall over her face to hide her blushing cheeks. Cedric's friends were waving him over to their table.

"Ah well, better be off," he said, standing up straight and shooting Cho another glance. "Nice talking to you girls." As he brought his hand back to his side he let it brush Cho's hair and the back of her neck, and she felt a little tingle run up her spine. _What on earth is wrong with me?_

"Bye Cedric," they chorused. He smiled and turned to go, then stopped.

"Wait a moment." He suddenly leaned over the table to Georgia, whose face registered absolute shock as Cedric gently unpinned her _Support CEDRIC DIGGORY _badge from her cloak and then frisbeed it into the small metal wastepaper basket next to the bar.

"Hope you don't mind," he said to the five surprised girls, as he dug two Sickles from his pocket and placed it in Georgia's hand. "But I hate those stupid badges. That's to pay for it." 

He gave them all a grin, shot Cho another unreadable look, then walked off to join his mates. There was a short pause as all the girls watched him go, then turned back to each other.

"Oh, my, _god_." Georgia said breathlessly, breaking the silence. "He's so…_cute_!"

Cute didn't even begin to describe it for Cho.


	4. Cedric the Charmer

The approaching Tuesday sent the school into a flurry of excitement. The upcoming first task was the topic of all conversation, and the champions were hardly starved for attention. Fleur Delacour seemed to be unscathed by the insurmountable challenge of the first task, and walked through corridors as though she owned Hogwarts, most often with a crowd of boys gawking after her. Viktor Krum, the Durmstrang champion, seemed also to be unaffected- when he wasn't in the library, he loped through the corridors with hunched shoulders and a surly expression on his face. He reminded Cho of a big dark eagle, fierce-eyed and quite unapproachable. Harry, of course, walked alone in the halls, accompanied only by the jeers and taunts of his fellow students. He always kept his head held high and his eyes dead ahead, despite the amount of feet that were stuck out to trip him up as he walked by. 

And Cedric was often to be seen wandering around the corridors surrounded by a group of excited fans, Cedric himself always looking nervous but cheerful all the same. If she passed him in the corridor, he would always make an effort to stop and yell out, "Hi Cho! How's it going?"

So often was he surrounded by a crowd of people, in fact, that it came as a surprise to Cho when she found him huddled in the corner of the library on Monday after dinner, all by himself. She herself was in the library researching slow-acting venoms for Potions class. She walked along the shelves trying to find the right book, passing tables occupied by a few students valiantly struggling to concentrate on homework, when really all they could think about was the Tournament on Tuesday. She came to the very last shelf and began moving along it, reading the spines, when she heard a frustrated sigh to her right. She peeked around the shelf to see Cedric sitting there, running a hand through his hair, which flopped insistently down onto his forehead. Cho's breath caught in her throat- it was such a perfect picture. It was amazing, the way he looked- with the 

If Cho had been someone else, someone like Lorla, with guts, maybe she could have approached him. If only.

__

He's so beautiful, Cho mused, as she watched him flicking quickly through the book open on the table before him. _How is it he doesn't have a girlfriend?_

He probably does. You're just hoping he doesn't because-

"Cho!" Cedric had looked up and spotted her staring at him. He had a delighted grin on his face. Cho was horrified- _he must think I'm a total idiot! Wait, I _am_ an idiot!_ How could she have let herself stand there gawking at him like that? She couldn't remember being so embarrassed.

Cedric, however, didn't seem to mind at all.

"Come here!" he said, pulling out the chair next to him and patting it. "Come talk to me."

Cho backed away. "You're busy- it's all right. I didn't mean to distract you-"

He just laughed. "You're a very _welcome_ distraction, believe me." He raised his eyebrows as he saw her skeptical expression. "Please? I could use the company."

Shyly, Cho came and sat next to him, feeling a blush spreading up her neck and into her face, and desperately wished she had inherited her father's dark olive skin tone so that it wouldn't be so obvious.

Cedric immediately closed his book, marking the spot with a quill, and turned towards her. "How's it going?"

"Fine. You?"

"As I fine as I can be, I suppose." Cedric said, rolling his eyes. He gave her a puzzled expression. "Do I have something on my face?"

"What?" Cho said.

"You're staring at me."

"Oh!" Cho cried, and blushed deeper. 

__

Damn you, capillaries, she thought furiously. "Sorry, I didn't mean to, I…didn't realise." 

__

Idiot! she chastised herself. She'd been mesmerised by Cedric's perfectly sculpted jawbone. Cedric laughed softly. _He must know how good-looking he is. He must realise the effect he has on girls._

Or more to the point, you_. I don't see anyone else staring at him like an idiot._

"Well…" Cedric said, after a bit of an awkward silence had passed between them, in which Cho had searched desperately for something to say. "Well. Tomorrow's the big day."

"For you," Cho agreed, nodding. "Are…are you nervous?"

Cedric bent his head a little, and his dark hair flopped onto his forehead again. "Nervous? No. I guess I'd describe the feeling more as…" he paused and considered. "Bloody blind panic," he said slowly. He looked at her and grinned, and Cho managed a smile back. "Yeah," he said thoughtfully, picking up a bottle of ink and spinning it along the table. "Bloody blind panic."

"So you still don't know what it is?" Cho asked.

"I'm not sure I'm supposed to," he answered, perplexingly. Cho looked at the book on the table in front of him. A large title adorned the leather front cover- _Advanced Transfiguration_, by Horatio Henrik_._ She decided to change the subject.

"Are your parents coming in to watch the first task?" 

"Ummm, no," Cedric said, seeming a little caught off guard by the question. "No, they decided it would be better to have a students only event. Fleur's parents are in France, 

Viktor's are in Bulgaria, and Harry, well…doesn't have any." He laughed, then stopped. "I'm sorry, that was a little insensitive of me, wasn't it?"

"Well, no one's being especially sensitive toward Harry lately," said Cho, shrugging. "It's not like you're on your own."

Cedric regarded her quietly for a moment or two. "It's stupid," he said suddenly. "Harry's all right. He's not out to hurt anyone- except maybe himself. I wish everyone would leave the poor kid alone."

"I'm sure he only did it as a joke," said Cho.

"But he told me he didn't put his name in at all," Cedric said, warming to the subject, "He was really insistent about it."

Cho looked at her hands to avoid his luminous grey eyes. "I don't know. I guess only Harry knows the truth."

"Yeah," said Cedric slowly. "You're right." A sigh escaped him, a sigh that was hard to place. "I dunno, Cho…" he said, and Cho subconsciously registered the use of her name, "I just think…it's all going to come to pieces, you know? I've been reading about the Tournament and…there's such awful stuff involved."

"Like what?"

"Like cheating, and bribery, and…not all the deaths in the past happened by accident either." 

Cho blinked. "Arranged killings?"

He looked at her gravely and nodded. Cho looked down at her hands again, unsure of what to say. She knew very little about the Triwizard Tournament, and her only interest in the present event was the fact that Cedric was in it. She wasn't sure why he was telling her this.

"Are you…worried?" she asked hesitantly. "Do you think they'll try to…hurt you?"

He turned and looked at her again, this time with a much softer expression on his face. "Yes. No. I don't know." He looked away. "I'm not sure. All I know is, I know something I shouldn't know and I don't know what to do about it. The smartest thing to do would be to take advantage of it and just not worry. But I can't help it." He sighed, and it was a sigh of pure anxiety. "The tournament's already riddled with lies and cheating. And now I'm a part of it."

He was talking more to himself than Cho now. But she thought she knew what he meant. _Cedric must know what the first task is. Somehow he's found out. And he feels bad about it…_

She almost smiled despite herself. Of course. Cedric would be the only person to feel bad about gaining an advantage. That's the kind of boy he was. 

__

And I like that. I really do…

"You know what the first task is?" she said, suddenly conscious of the fact that she was gazing at his face again and shaking her head slightly, to gain control. Cedric looked at her. The expression on his face was unreadable- for a moment Cho thought he looked annoyed, and she immediately panicked- _I shouldn't have accused him of that. I'm probably wrong and now he hates me_- but then he sighed again, and rested his face in his hands. "Yes," he murmured.

For a moment Cho had to fight an irrepressible urge to put her arms around him and give him a reassuring squeeze. He looked so worried, so anxious and tense- and Cho forgot that he was older than her, and a school champion, and a beloved Quidditch captain and prefect- because for a moment, he was human. She recognised feelings of worry and strain- she felt them before every exam, every Quidditch match- she knew how it felt. 

It was somehow strange to know that Cedric could feel the same way she did. 

She reached out her hand and placed 

it gently on his shoulder, unable to help herself- instinctively, she just wanted to offer him some comfort. He looked up immediately at her touch, and she drew her hand away. She blushed again as Cedric gave her a look both questioning and concerned.

"Sorry," she murmured. But Cedric didn't appear to have heard her.

"Cho," he said, "I'm sorry. I don't 

mean to lay this all on you. I've been dying to tell someone though, and…well, I guess you seemed ready to hear it." He gave her a pale smile. "You're a good listener. I'm sorry. Have I made you uncomfortable?"

"N-not at all," Cho stammered, surprised by the question, "Why would you?"

He shrugged those wonderful strong shoulders. "I don't know." There was a pause, as Cedric placed his sad grey eyes on her again and smiled ruefully. Cho smiled back, feeling uncertain. He seemed to be about to ask her something else. She tried to think of something to say and wished desperately for Lorla's wit. Her best friend could always think of something clever and cheering to say- which would have been perfect at the time.

"Do you think any less of me now?" Cedric blurted out. 

Cho stared at him. He was looking at her anxiously, waiting for her answer as though it actually meant something to him. It seemed unreal- as though Cho's opinion of Cedric actually worried him? 

"What?" she managed to say.

"Don't make me say it again," Cedric said, wincing slightly. With a start, Cho realised he was blushing.

"No! Not at all!" she stammered. "God, no! I mean, if anything, the fact that it worried you has…has only given me a, a higher opinion of you!"

"Oh. Really?" Cedric was smiling again- his broad, easy smile.

"Yes!" Cho cried, desperate to convince him. She blushed, almost immediately, as she realized what she'd said. Cedric was smiling at her still, and Cho felt incredibly stupid. _Oh no. What's he thinking now. "This idiot of a school girl thinks her opinion matters to me"? That's probably it. I'm so STUPID._

"Well, I…" she started, and cleared her throat. "I don't really know you, though."

"Ah. No. That's right." Cedric said, his smile fading a little. Cho wanted to leave before she said anything else stupid, and wondered how to excuse herself in a way that wouldn't leave her bereft of any more dignity. To her utter relief, it was Cedric who looked at his watch and raised his eyebrows.

"Blimey- I'd better go, anyway." He started piling up his books. Cho got to her feet, quickly, and tucked her chair in under her table. Cedric paused in his packing up, straightened up a little and looked at her. "Cho?"

Cho looked up at him quickly as she tucked her hair behind her ears. Cedric was fiddling with the corner of his dog eared text book, bending it back and forth and not meeting Cho's eyes. 

"Are you…" he said, then paused. "Will you…cheer for me tomorrow? Even though you know I'm not…facing it honestly?"

Cho paused. How to answer this without sounding too desperate to reassure him? She straightened her face, and cleared her throat to gain control.

"Of course I will, Cedric," she said calmly. There was something odd to Cedric's smile this time- something a little off that made him look…sad? Disappointed?

"Thanks, Cho," he said, turning to pack up his things again. Cho scurried out of the library without her potions books, before any more mistakes could be made.


	5. Cedric the Dragon Tamer

Lessons went until midday on Tuesday, and then all students were to go out and watch the first task. Cho could hardly concentrate on anything Professor Sprout was teaching them in Herbology though, despite the interesting shade of purple Georgia went when she was stung by the plants they were potting.

She couldn't get the conversation with Cedric out of her head. Actually, she just couldn't get _Cedric_ out of her head. It was impossible not to think about him, especially in the context of what had happened the previous night. Try as she might, she just couldn't figure out _why_ Cedric 

had told her what he told her. What kind of response did her want her to give? Why was he confiding in her, Cho, an almost complete stranger? In her frustration, Cho had told Lorla about it, but now wished she had told someone more sensible about it, like Ariana, because Lorla, once again, had interpreted it in entirely the wrong way.

"I'm telling you Choo-choo," Lorla said firmly, addressing Cho by the affectionate nickname Lorla used on her, "he _likes_ you. There's no other reason for it. He feels bad about finding out what the first task was-"

"Not so loud!" Cho hushed her immediately. "You don't want everyone to find out, do you?"

Lorla looked surreptitiously around the greenhouse, buzzing with the low hum of students talking while they were working. "He feels bad about it, anyway," she continued, "and he told you because he wants to know what _you_ think of him. He values your opinion."

Cho sighed as she brushed some soil off her robes. "First of all, Lolly," she said, addressing Lorla by _her_ affectionate nickname for her, "Just because he respects my opinion doesn't mean he _likes_ me. Secondly, he was probably just…testing the waters, so to speak. I think he just wanted to gauge a reaction- you know, what people will think when he tells them he accidentally found out about the first task. He wants to know if he'll still be as liked by the general body of students." Her brow furrowed. What she was saying didn't even make sense to her- Cedric making sure he was still beloved by the public? That didn't seem right. "I'm just…one of the masses, to him."

The bell rang, signalling lunchtime, Cho and Lorla joined the masses of students making their way towards the Great Hall. "I really tend to disagree," said Lorla thoughtfully, shoving her Herbology book in her bag as they walked, "I think he seeks you out- you know, the way he waves to you in the corridors, and the way he always drops by the Ravenclaw table at meal times. I really think he has a crush on you."

Cho blushed. "And I think you're pushing the issue. He doesn't like me."

"Do you like him?" 

It was a question Cho had been asking herself all day. Certainly she was very attracted to him, but wasn't it superficial to like a boy just for his looks? 

__

But I don't just like him for his looks…I actually like the look of_ him._

Certainly, Cedric hadn't given her any reason to dislike him. If anything, their encounters over the past week had given her an even higher opinion of him: the way he staunchly stood up for Harry Potter, his competitor; the way he felt bad about knowing what the first task was even though it gave him a huge advantage…

"Of course I don't," Cho said to Lorla as they entered the Great Hall. "He's just plain…out of my league. And he's too old for me anyway."

"No one's out of your _league_, Cho," Lorla scolded as sat down at the Ravenclaw table, "Don't even think that."

The noise level in the Great Hall was even higher than usual, presumably because of the impending task. Contrary to what she told Lorla, Cho felt an unusual flutter in her stomach as automatically she searched for Cedric with her eyes and found him seated at the Hufflepuff table already, between two of his Hufflepuff friends who looked like they were acting as bodyguards against the barrage of fans that would accost him as they walked past. Cedric himself looked like he was about to be sick, and Cho's heart went out to him. How would she feel if she had to face whatever the first task was with the whole school watching? Like throwing herself off the Astronomy tower, she supposed.

She looked up at him again just as the guests from Beauxbatons entered, with Fleur Delacour leading the way. In a stark contrast to Cedric, Fleur looked as though she had already won the Triwizard Cup rather than not even having faced the first task yet. She stopped by the Hufflepuff table to talk to Cedric, and the entourage of Beauxbatons students behind her halted and formed a sort of respectful line. They were treating Fleur in much the same way they treated their headmistress, Cho observed. Cedric gave Fleur a half-hearted smile and said something presumably flattering as she laughed and tossed her mane of silky blonde hair.

"Blondes," Lorla sighed derisively, and Cho realised Lorla had been watching Cedric too. "They think they rule the world, don't they?"

Soon after, Professor Sprout, the head of Hufflepuff, made her way over to Cedric's place at the Hufflepuff table and spoke quietly in his ear. He nodded grimly and rose, eliciting a round of applause and several hearty cries of "Good luck Cedric!", and "You can do it, Diggory!"

"They're going out to prepare for the task!" Georgia squealed excitedly. "Oh, I hope he does well!"

Cho noticed that Professor McGonagall, the head of Gryffindor, was leaning over the Gryffindor table to talk to Harry Potter, 

presumably to show him out to the first task, but there was no round of applause that to follow him out of the Great Hall. Cho suddenly had a strong desire to leap from her seat and yell something encouraging to Harry, whom she had never seen look more miserable. 

And soon after that, Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet and raised his wand for silence.

"If you will please follow your heads of House outside now to the stands. It is time for the first task." He hesitated only slightly. "I would like to remind you all now that this is an experience in which the champions will face great danger. I ask you to please them your full support…whatever school they are from."

The level of talking rose again almost immediately he had finished. Tiny little Professor Flitwick, the much-loved head of Ravenclaw, scurried over to lead them outside.

"This way," he squeaked, as they all surged to their feet, "This way, please…"

They walked out past the Forbidden Forest. As they rounded the perimeter of the forest, a large wooden enclosure came into view, from which a terrible sound could be heard. It was a roaring, whooshing sound- a terrible beast-like noise, which elicited nightmarish figures of giant prehistoric beasts, in Cho's mind.

"No need to worry," Professor Flitwick quavered as he stopped dead when he heard the sound. The students of his house simply walked around him as he stood stock-still, shivering from head to foot. As they came closer Cho saw a large tent- from which the terrible sounds were coming- and a smaller one to the left, directly joined to the fenced enclosure. 

Hagrid stood at the entrance to the enclosure, positively beaming with delight. "Righ' this way, girls an' boys- fill up the stands, in yeh go…" Cho smiled at Hagrid as she, Lorla, Ariana, Islean and Georgia passed, and he winked at her. "All righ' you two? What's the matter, Ron?" he said to someone behind them.

Hundreds and hundreds of seats surrounded a sandy ring- it reminded Cho of a picture she had seen in her History of Magic book- the arenas of Ancient Rome, where they used to sacrifice those they thought were witches and wizards and Catholics to savage beasts….

"I wonder where the champions are?" Ariana said, craning her neck as they went up the stands. Sitting down, Cho noticed the entrance of the smaller tent shifting and Harry Potter walked out, closely followed by an oversized bumblebee. 

"Bagman," muttered Lorla, looking where Cho was. Ludo Bagman- the oversized bumblebee- was an ex-Quidditch player and one of the Triwizard judges , as he worked at the Ministry. He was wearing his old Wimbledon Wasp robes- bright yellow with brown stripes. Cho liked the look of him- he was funny and cheerful, with a rosy face that reminded her of Father Christmas. "Wonder where they're going?"

"Don't know," Cho answered. She looked around for the other judges- they were on the opposite side of the stadium, in seats raised high, draped with gold. Professor Dumbledore sat right in the middle, his thumbs pressed together in thought, his bright blue eyes directed intently at the stadium. 

"Do you think the judges know what the task is?" she asked, poking Lorla.

"Bound to," said Lorla, "They wouldn't know if the champions were capable, otherwise."

Down in the very front of the stands was Hufflepuff- all grouped together as a house to give their full support to Cedric. Several of them were waving banners- and all of them were wearing _Support CEDRIC DIGGORY_ badges. The Gryffindors weren't lumped together to support Harry, though. Cho was just wondering where his girlfriend was sitting when a voice sounded shrilly behind her.

"You could have apologised! Just to let him know you're going to give him support!" 

"Can you give it a rest?" a voice snapped back. Cho turned discreetly to see Hermione Granger herself in the midst of a heated argument with the Weasley twins' little brother…Ryan? Roland?

"No, Ron, I will not give it a rest," Hermione snapped back, "You two are both behaving like absolute idiots. I don't even know why I _bother_."

"Me neither," said Ron Weasley grumpily, folding his arms and stretching out his long legs in front of him. "Listen, Hermione- he's lying. He's got to be. How else can his name have got into the Goblet? Some kindly seventh year trying to give him even more publicity?"

Hermione made a frustrated noise. "For goodness's _sake_! You're such an _idiot_! No one in the whole school believes him, and he can't even trust the one person who he thought _would_ believe him!"

"You believe him, don't you?" said Ron, sounding uncomfortable. 

"Of course I do. I trust him. He's my friend."

Cho turned around to face them, feeling guilty for eavesdropping on their conversation. "I hope Harry does well today," she said sincerely. Hermione and Ron both looked at her in surprise.

"Oh, well- thank you." Hermione said uncertainly. "So do I." She smiled at Cho. "It's Cho, isn't it?"

"Yes, Cho Chang," said Cho, holding out her hand. "Pleased to meet you."

"Hermione Granger," said Hermione, shaking the extended hand. "This is Ron Weasley." 

"Hi," said Ron gruffly, also shaking her hand. 

"Hi," Cho answered. "This is Lorla Quirke." Lorla had turned around to see who Cho was talking to and she grinned as she shook Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley by the hand.

"Nice to meet the brave girl who stuck by him," she said casually to Hermione. 

"Pardon me?"

"How long have you and Harry been going out?" Lorla said quizzically.

At this, Ron's eyebrows rose straight up into his fringe and Hermione blushed. "Oh, we're not-" she said, but stopped as a sudden hush fell over the buzzing students. Cho turned to see why the sudden quiet had descended and found the reason at the judges' table- Dumbledore had risen to his feet.

"Welcome, one and all," he said, his deep voice travelling easily over the enormous stadium, "to the first task of the Triwizard Tournament." The crowd burst into wild applause at this and it took a few minutes for Dumbledore to bring silence again. "I would like to extend my thanks to our foreign visitors for being such delightful guests. I trust they feel welcomed into our school." More applause, less excited this time.

"I also must extend my thanks and most veritable congratulations to the organisers of this event- Mr Bartemius Crouch and Mr Ludovic Bagman, of the Ministry of Magic…" He waited while more polite applause rang around the arena. "And finally, I would like to thank each and every one of you for the enthusiasm with which you support the school champions. I'm sure it is as touching and encouraging to them, as it is to me." There was no applause this time- just a murmur running through the crowd. Dumbledore smiled. "And one final word before Mr Bagman takes over, just so that you all know what's going on- the champions task is to collect the golden egg."

The applause that followed was a mixture of confused murmuring and clapping. Suddenly a door at the side of the enclosure creaked open and through it came a gigantic straw structure full of large white boulders- carried by at least twenty men.

"I know what those are!" said Ron suddenly, his voice sounding clearly above the puzzled murmurs of the crowd. 

"So do I," said Lorla grimly. So did Cho- on closer observation they weren't white boulders but eggs- and only one creature had eggs that size…

"Hey- _hey!_" Ron said again. 

"There's Charlie!"

"Where?" asked Hermione.

"Carrying the nest in- what's going on?"

The wizards dropped the gigantic nest and then disappeared through the door they had come through. A roaring ensued. One lone wizard with bright red hair ran out ahead of the rest of them and blew hard on a 

whistle. And that was when the dragon came in.

It was twenty feet tall, greyish blue in colour, with long pointed horns. And it was roaring terribly, as it was led in by nineteen other wizards holding onto ropes tied around the beast's neck. Several screams accompanied the dragon's entrance.

"Swedish Short-Snout," said Ron, behind Cho. "No wonder Charlie knew what was going on at school this year."

"Yes, well," said Hermione. "It's a good thing, too."

"Stand by!" the redhead down in the arena was yelling, "Get to your posts!" The wizards holding onto the dragon each gave their ropes a sharp tug and the ropes around the dragon's neck fell to the ground. Each wizard then scurried to a different position around the edge of the stadium. And then Cho noticed- amid the white boulder -sized eggs there was a small golden one. The champions' task was to get the golden egg…

"Oh, I see!" Cho said, "That's the task- the champion has to get past the dragon and grab the egg!"

"Oh my god. Wonder who's got to face this beast?" Lorla said, grabbing Cho's arm tightly. 

Her question was answered right away…

"Ladies and gents, welcome to the first task!" The voice of Ludo Bagman suddenly rang around the many seats, and Cho looked up. He was once more sitting at the judge's table, his voice magically magnified to be louder. "As you all know, we have four champions competing this morning- and our first is Hogwarts heartthrob- _Cedric Diggory!_"


	6. Cedric the Undefeated

(A/N: this chapter is very long, so deal with it)

"As you all know, we have four champions competing this morning- and our first is Hogwarts heartthrob- _Cedric Diggory!_" 

At this, the crowd of Hufflepuffs went wild- some screaming in panic, some cheering for Cedric. Cho felt her stomach twist into knots. Cedric had to face this beast, armed only with his wand? 

Cedric stumbled into the arena, looking pale and terrified. He looked up at the beast- and up, and up at the gigantic dragon, towering over him. The Swedish Short-Snout puffed smoke from its nostrils and moved closer to its eggs. Suddenly Cedric looked very small, very vulnerable, and very human. Cho wanted so much to be able to and tell him everything would be all right. She doubted her words would have made any difference, him being face to face with such a monster.

Cedric seemed to be frozen for a few moments, but he steeled himself and made his first move.

"That's it, lad, no need to be scared," Bagman said jovially.

Cedric tried to run around the dragon- but its eyes were following his every move. He moved to the left, then to the right- getting closer to the nest all the time. The dragon obviously didn't like this, so she sent a stream of fire into the air. The crowd screamed as Cedric quickly ducked and rolled away to avoid it.

"Ooh, narrow miss there, very narrow!" Bagman said. "You'll have to do a little better than that to beat this beast, Mr. Diggory." 

Cedric brandished his wand, looking determined. The spell he yelled was inaudible over the noise of the crowd but it seemed to do the trick- two clods of dirt from the ground shot straight up into the air- into the dragon's nostrils. The thing yowled terribly as a great amount of smoke started billowing from its ears. Cedric took this opportunity to run at the nest but the dragon yowled again and batted Cedric away with its tail. Cedric took the blow to his stomach and rolled away several metres, winded. The crowd's yells grew to a reached a crescendo. Lorla was clutching Cho's arms so hard her fingernails were digging in, painfully.

"Nice try!" Bagman yelled gleefully, "He's taking risks, this one!"

Now things were heating up- literally. The dragon had recognised Cedric as a definite threat- glowing embers were dropping from its nose. Cedric got to his feet, staring the dragon right in the eyes. He raised his wand- and pointed it past the dragon at a rock. He yelled something again- and the rock suddenly grew and sprouted legs and turned into a large brown dog. 

"Hello, different tactics!" Bagman cried, "He's got more brains than we give him credit for…"

The dog barked loudly, and the dragon, distracted, turned away from Cedric to look at the dog. It barked again, its hackles raised, and started growling. The dragon answered with a low throbbing purr in the back of her throat, and started towards the dog. This was just what Cedric wanted- he began to move quickly and stealthily towards the nest. 

"Mad!" said Ron hoarsely, "absolutely mad!" 

Cho tore her eyes away from Cedric for two seconds to look around at Ron. "Why? What's wrong?"

Ron shook his head, his eyes directed intently at the scene below. "If that dragon sees him she's going to go mad- and I mean _mad_. There's no way she's going to eat that dog over Cedric after what he did to her." 

"But isn't the dog a threat too?" Lorla asked.

"Well the dog didn't shoot dirt up the dragon's nose, did it?" Ron said. "Oh no-" At the look of horror on Ron's face, Cho and Lorla spun back around to face the arena. Cedric was less than a metre away from the egg- but the dragon had obviously decided to focus on the bigger threat of Cedric, just as Ron had predicted. 

"_Clever_ move!" Bagman cried, "Pity it didn't work!" 

The dragon was roaring and making a terrible noise, spreading her wings to their fullest extent. The crowd gasped at the terrible beauty of this sight. Cedric leaned over and grabbed the egg, just as the dragon shot two streams of flame from its mouth. "_He's got the egg!" _ Ludo Bagman screamed, but the sound of his voice was all but lost in the roars of the crowd. The people in the crowd surged- and Cho couldn't see what was going on. But she could hear Cedric- he was screaming in pain.

"Oh my God!" Lorla, who was tall enough to see over everyone's heads, clapped two hands to her mouth. "Oh my god, oh my god!"

"What? What is it?" Cho cried urgently, ducking just in time to avoid Georgia's arm, which she was waving about wildly.

"Cedric! He's on fire!"

"_What?!_" Cho gasped.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Cedric Diggory has got the egg in just under twenty minutes! Unfortunately he's copped some…minor injures- but our dragon personnel are seeing to that!"

Urgent yells were sounding from the arena- Cedric's screams were dying down- people were sitting back down.

"Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts, everyone!" Ludo Bagman cried. Cho stood on her toes and could just see Cedric with a towel over his head being led off by the red-headed wizard with the whistle.

"Very good indeed! And now the marks from the judges!"

Cho looked over at the judges' table. Madame Maxime lifted her wand and shot a long silver ribbon into the air- which twisted into an unmistakable number seven. Wild applause ensued. 

"Remember that the most points any champion can receive is fifty- ten out of ten from each judge," Ludo Bagman reminded them as Barty Crouch shot a silver ribbon into the air- eight out of ten. Dumbledore was next- he awarded Cedric eight out of ten as well. 

"My go," said Bagman, grinning. He gave Cedric a nine out of ten. The crowd gave their most enthusiastic round of applause yet. Last, the Durmstrang Headmaster gave his marks- six out of ten.

"That makes…" Cho said, doing a quick calculation in her head, "…thirty eight."

"Thirty eight out of fifty's quite good," Lorla said, smiling. "The French blonde'll have to be prepared for a fight to beat our Cedric."

Cho realised with a start that her hands were shaking. She clenched and unclenched them to make it stop. She'd been frightened- really frightened. It wasn't the first time she'd seen a dragon, either. True, she'd never seen that particular type of dragon, but still…

__

Calm down, she told herself sternly, _how can he possibly get hurt? Dumbledore wouldn't have let Cedric go in the competition if he thought he'd get hurt._

Then she stopped. _Why are you worrying about it anyway? He's none of your business, he's not your concern!_

But he _was_ her concern- very much so. Cho took a deep breath and decided not to think about it.

Another whistle blew, and a second dragon was led out- this one smaller, a brilliant green in colour.

"One down, three to go!" Bagman said cheerfully, "Miss Delacour, if you please!"

Fleur came out of the tent with her head high and her wand at the ready.

"You have to hand it to her," Ariana said to Lorla over the applause, "she's got guts!"

"Guts? She hasn't even got a bottom." Lorla snorted. 

Cho didn't really concentrate on Fleur's performance- her mind kept wandering to the small tent at the side, where Cedric had been rushed. 

"I hope he's all right," she said without thinking. 

"What?" Lorla said, slightly distracted by the sight of the green dragon chasing Fleur all over the stadium.

"I'm not sure that was wise!" Bagman said gleefully over Fleur's screams. "Oh- nearly!" Fleur made a dive to the nest. "Careful now-" The dragon made a dive at Fleur. She screamed again and backed away as the dragon sent a stream of flame from its nostrils aimed at Fleur's magnificent head.

"Damn!" Cho heard Lorla say as Fleur dived away.

"Good Lord, I thought she'd had it then!" Bagman said cheerfully.

Ten minutes later, Fleur had successfully retrieved the egg. The judges awarded her thirty-five points out of fifty.

"Not bad, eh?" Ariana said, applauding Fleur as she was led into the first aid tent. Lorla snorted again.

"Not bad at all," said a voice behind them. Cho turned to see that Ron Weasley was grinning to himself as he clapped. Hermione frowned at him. 

"Got the picture yet?" she snapped at him, "Whoever put Harry's name in the Goblet didn't do it so he could win a thousand Galleons and miss exams! They wanted him to face this. They _wanted_ him to get hurt!"

Ron's smile disappeared. "Hrm," he grunted.

The whistle blew once more, and a third dragon was led out- but Cho knew what this one was. "Chinese Fireball," she said, frowning. "I wonder who's got to go up against that beast."

Their question was answered almost immediately- Viktor Krum came striding out the tent with a determined air. "And here comes Mr. Krum!" said Bagman, unnecessarily. Not wasting any time, Viktor ran at the beast and hit it with a hex in the eyes. The terrible Chinese Fireball yowled mightily- the noise itself was the music of nightmares- but Cho knew it was just a ruse.

"Phwaor, I can smell that dragon from here," said Lorla, wrinkling her nose.

"They all smell like that," said Cho, "It's a way of warding off predators."

"And marking their territory," Ron added, over their shoulders.

Cho nodded. "Females spread it all over their eggs."

"Stops things from trying to eat them," Ron put in. "Who'd want to eat anything that smells like that?" He gave Cho a smile. "How'd you know that stuff about dragons?"

"Just Chinese Fireballs. My Great Grandfather Zhou discovered the species." 

"No kidding!" Ron looked impressed. "I'd say this is as vicious as the dragons are going to get. They wouldn't put a high school student up against much more." 

"Well, that shows how much you know," Hermione said. "Wait until you see what Harry's up against."

"Since when did you become the expert on dragons?" Ron snapped.

"Since when did _you_?" Hermione countered.

"Hey- that's _my _brother down there with the whistle, I'll have you know."

"But he's not the one who has to make his way past it, is he?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

As their bickering began to turn into a more heated argument, Cho and Lorla exchanged a smile and turned their attention back to Viktor Krum, just as he was grabbing the golden egg off the pile.

"Very daring- very, _very_ daring!" Bagman roared above the crowd's approval. Viktor was out of the arena with a sort of satisfied smile on his face, the golden egg clutched tightly in his hands. 

"Just Harry now," said Lorla, and Cho thought again of the injured Cedric in the first-aid tent. If she was a braver person she could run down to the tent now and see him, see if he was all right. And would he sit up in his bed and be pleased to see her? Or would he say "Who are you again?"

__

You're just one of the masses, to him, Cho reminded herself, and settled back in her seat, frowning.

The whistle blew for the fourth time. But the dragon that came out elicited a bigger reaction than any previous one. It was forty feet tall, black as night, armour-plated, with gigantic bony wings. Its mouth was filled with razor sharp fangs- its eyes were yellow and slitted like a cat's. But worst of all, in Cho's opinion, was the tail- which was spiked, and deadly looking.

Behind them, Hermione let out a small, frightened squeal, and Ron swore. 

"A Hungarian Horntail?" he said, suddenly hoarse. "What…but…what do they think they're playing at? They can't to this to him. He'll be killed!"

"Oh Ron!" Hermione sounded tearful now. "It's bigger than I thought it would be- what if it doesn't work?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, Harry Potter!" There was no applause- just a great amount of noise. Cheers and jeers arose from the crowd. Some people were yelling out words of encouragement, and other yelled out disdainful comments. Harry walked slowly into the arena, facing the massive Horntail, which was crouched in a corner. He stopped, looking very small, and raised his wand. His voice sounded clearly above all the noise.

"_Accio Firebolt!_"

Next to Cho, Lorla had involuntarily clasped her hands together as if she were praying. There was a momentary hush as Harry stood, all alone, staring up at the dragon with his right hand raised…

"Hey, Potter! What are you doing, waiting for the egg to jump into your hand?"

The insult sounded very clearly from the Slytherin section- it was followed immediately by other jeers and laughter. Others started yelling things out to Harry as well- but he just stood there, one hand raised. Lorla was incensed. "No!" she cried angrily. "No! Why don't they ever leave him alone?" For a moment, Cho struggled with the desire to leap to her feet and yell out something- anything- that would make them stop. But before she could, someone behind her did.

"SHUT UP!" bellowed Ron. Cho and Lorla swivelled around. Ron was on his feet, bright red in the face- Hermione sitting beside him was looking tearful. Ron took a deep breath, and then yelled again. "YOU CAN DO IT, HARRY!" 

"Yeah, come on Harry!" Lorla yelled, clapping her hands together. 

"Go, Harry!" someone else yelled in the Hufflepuff section. And that's when Cho heard it- as the noise level started rising, as everyone began to applaud and yell- insults or encouragement- there was a whistling, whiffling noise- something was heading very fast towards the stadium. 

__

Shoooooooom!

Something whizzed over Cho's head- it took her a few seconds to realise what it was- Ron realised just before her.

"He _did_ it! He did it!" the boy roared.

"Yes! _Yes!_" Hermione squealed excitedly.

Harry's broomstick had flown all the way from Gryffindor Tower to his hand- and as Cho watched, he caught the broomstick neatly, mounted it, and then launched himself into the air.

It was wonderful to see- Harry flew high, high into the air, and then back down to earth. The noise of the crowd was truly deafening. Cho and Lorla both got to their feet and stood up on their chairs, clapping and whooping. 

For a while, Cedric was momentarily pushed out of Cho's mind as she watched Harry Potter. he pulled into a dive so intense she herself felt squeamish watching him. The dragon's plume of fire missed him by a millimeter. Ron and Hermione whooped.

"Great Scott, he can fly! Are you watching this Mr. Krum?" jeered Mr. Bagman. Harry flew around and around the great beasts head, and before long it was quite dizzy-m and the cheering of the crowd went on. Cho felt a bit dizzy herself watching him. No wonder they had never been able to beat Gryffindor at Quidditch. Since when had he been so _good_? 

Harry pulled into another dive- but this time he was not so good- the dragon's nightmarish tail swung around and hit Harry in the shoulder. Several people screamed, Georgia among them ("Oh, _Christ_…" groaned Ron). And then Harry began to fly back, and forth, back and forth, each time going a little bit further away from the incensed Horntail. Lorla had twigged on what he was trying to do.

"He's going to make the brute get out of its nest and fly at him, so he can go down and grab the egg." she muttered, "I can't tell if that's stupidly brave, or just plain smart."

Hearing the dragon roar so angrily, Cho suspected it was the former rather than the latter. The noise of the crowd had died down a bit- everyone was sitting on tenterhooks waiting for the dragon to fly…

The Horntail let out an incensed roar, and then, just as Lorla predicted, as Harry flew high, so did she, with huge sweeping flaps of her Saurian wings. Quick as lightning Harry dived, dived, dived- and got it!

"_He's got the egg_!" Ludo Bagman bellowed over the deafening roars of the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, our youngest champion is quickest to get the egg!"

"'Scuse me," said Ron in Cho's ear. He leapt over her chair, closely followed by Hermione, and the two made their way as quickly as they could to the stairs at the end of the row. 

"Where do you think they're going?" Lorla asked, as they watched Ron and Hermione pelt downstairs to the first aid tent. 

Cho shrugged. She was waiting for the scores to come up. How would Harry compare to Cedric? Harry's method was certainly better- and quicker- but surely Cedric's was just as good? Maybe the judges were going to be lenient on Harry because he was younger- and supposedly, a reluctant participant in the tournament. 

The noise level of the crowd had dropped to an excited level of chatter as they too waited excitedly for the judges' decisions. 

"That was wicked!" said someone behind Cho. "Absolutely wicked!"

"Yeah, Potter's not so bad, really, is he?" said his companion. "Wish I hadn't tried to curse him in the hallway that time." 

"I'm sure he doesn't mind."

Cho smiled to herself. It looked as though things were going to go back to normal- before Harry had gotten so unpopular. She suddenly wondered if Cedric had seen Harry's performance as well- and if so, was he as impressed as she was? 

A sudden hush fell over the students as the judges stood to give their points- a hush which didn't last long. As Madame Maxime shot a silver '8' into the air, the school once again broke into enthusiastic applause. Mr Crouch was next- he gave Harry a 9. The applause grew even louder. Then Dumbledore gave Harry another 9- down by the champions' tent, Cho could see Harry standing with Ron Weasley- both had huge grins on their faces. Ludo Bagman's score elicited the wildest applause of all- a 10. Looking down at Harry again, Cho could see the grin had disappeared from his face. She didn't pause to wonder why as the final mark was coming up form Professor Karkaroff. 

"Four?!" Lorla cried, sounding as surprised as Cho felt. "That's ridiculous! He gave Krum TEN for God's sake!"

"Well, you've got to expect him to be a _bit_ biased." Cho reasoned.

"That's not bias!" Lorla said angrily. "That's _cheating_!"

There was a surge of movement as the Hogwarts students got to their feet and started making their way out of the enclosure. Curiously, Cho had the same feeling she always had after she'd done an exam- she'd devoted so much thought to the tournament and then it was all over in little more than an hour. It was quite the anti-climax really- she was expecting something _more_ to happen, somehow. 

As Cho reached the edge of the enclosure, she paused. The champions had once again gathered in the tent by the side of the enclosure- the flap had been left open and Cho could see quite clearly inside. The champions were gathered around Ludo Bagman- Viktor Krum was looking moody, Fleur Delacour was looking distinctly shaken, and Harry was looking quite cheerful- which was curious, as Cho could hardly remember seeing him recently without a scowl on his face. And Cedric was there too, of course- he stood at least a foot and a half taller than Harry, taller even than Viktor Krum. His back was to her, so Cho couldn't see his face but his back was straight and his shoulders were squared and he didn't look as though he'd just faced a dragon at all- he looked more as though he was ready for- well, anything. Ludo Bagman was talking rapidly and gesturing to the golden eggs each of them were now holding. He nodded in a conclusive sort of way and ambled off. Harry was joined almost immediately by Ron, who punched him on the arm amiably. Fleur and Viktor joined their respective classmates. Cedric, however, stooped, to tie his shoelace. Cho longed to see his face, just for a moment, so she could see what he was thinking…

"Go and talk to him." Lolra said above Cho's left shoulder.

"Huh?" Cho was jerked out her reverie by the sudden appearance of her friend. She'd kind of forgotten about the rest of the school, surging out of the enclosure entrance.

"Go and _talk_ to him." Lorla repeated. "Come on. You know you want to."

"I…" Cho said, blinking rapidly. Of _course_ she wanted to. She would have liked nothing more than to run up to him and give him a big congratulatory hug- and she wouldn't have to say anything because they'd know each other, and they could stand there hugging each other as the rest of the school walked past them…

"Do it!" Lorla said, poking Cho rather more violently than was necessary in the ribs. "Go _on_."

"I can't…" Cho protested weakly, even as she found Lorla giving her a strong push in the back so that Cho stumbled over towards Cedric. 

__

Oh well, Cho thought, feeling her heart turn over, _I've gone this far. I've just got to….take a few more steps and then I'll be right in front of him- what will I say_?

Cedric was getting rather heavily to his feet, picking up the golden egg as he did so, brushing back his hair. All Cho had to do was call his name, and he'd turn around…

"_Cedric_!"

Cho had opened her mouth, but the voice had come from behind her. She spun around to see a barrage of Hufflepuff students sprinting in her direction. "Cedric, Cedric!" they yelled. Cho spun back around, and saw Cedric's face. The dragon's fire must have hit him literally head on- one side of his face was covered in a sickly orange ointment and his hair had been burnt- it was sticking out in all directions. Cho was horrified. He'd really been hit badly.

Cedric was holding the egg in one hand and waving cheerfully with the other. Suddenly he turned his head- and spotted Cho. She froze, mortified. Cedric had caught her gawking at him like an idiot _again_. She felt too sick to return his smile- she turned on her heel and ran out of the enclosure, joining the rest of the Hogwarts students making their way up to the castle in groups. Cho spotted Lorla, Ariana, Islean and Georgia and made her way towards them.

"What happened to _you_?" Lorla said, as Cho ran up to her.

"I don't want to talk about it," Cho said, slowing down. "But that's the last bloody time I take a cue from you."

Lorla snorted. "Like I haven't heard _that_ before." 

"What's wrong?" Islean asked Cho, taking in her flushed cheeks and nauseated expression.

"Nothing, I just…feel sick." Cho said. "The smell of Chinese Fireballs makes me…feel sick."

"No it doesn't," Lorla pointed out helpfully.

Georgia was practically bubbling over with excitement. "Did you see _Harry_?" she squealed. "Wasn't he simply wonderful?! I mean, I knew he could fly but not as good as _that_, I mean, it was just fantastic!"

"Says the girl with the _POTTER STINKS_ badge," Ariana remarked with a smile.

"No, Cedric threw mine away, remember?" Georgia corrected her. "And Cedric!" she cried suddenly, "He was wonderful! I mean, I know his head got set on fire, but the way he dived in and got the egg was just so cool." She took in a deep breath. "You know what?" she said suddenly, in a slower tone. "I don't want to jinx it or anything, but I think Cedric might like me." 

"You do?" Cho said, too quickly to be casual. "I mean- what, er, what makes you say that?"

"Well," said Georgia, with a mysterious little smile. "You know that day in the Three Broomsticks when Cedric-"

"-stole my badge and then paid for it," Lorla, Ariana and Islean chorused. "Yes, we know all about it," Lorla said, rolling her eyes at Cho. Cho managed a weak smile. 

"_Well_," Georgia a said, drawing out the syllable on her tongue, "The next day in Divination, Professor Trelawney predicted great romantic prospects in my future!"

"_Did_ she now?" Lorla said sarcastically. (Everyone knew Lorla thought Professor Trelawney was about as psychically inclined as a bowl of soup.) "Has she been consulting her crystal ball again? Or maybe she saw it in her magical lampshade? Or could it be that her left shoe has started mapping out the future?" 

"_No_," Georgia said, glaring at Lorla, and Ariana and Islean sniggered. "She saw it in the stars. You know what that means, don't you?" she added, in a dreamy tone. She waited patiently for their curiosity.

"Er…what?" Cho said, after a moment's silence.

"It's _destiny_!" Georgia cried happily. Everyone except Cho groaned loudly.

"Honestly, Georgia!" Ariana cried, "if you were any more gullible you'd believe the earth was flat!"

Georgia's forehead creased as she struggled with a metaphysics of a flat earth. 

Lorla laughed loudly. "Fair enough, George, but what makes you think it's _Cedric _mapped out in your stars?" 

Georgia perked up. "Oooh, you know!" she cried "He's always smiling at me in the hallways- he even said "hi" to me once- and of course there was the incident in the Three Broomsticks…"

"Of _course_," Ariana said sarcastically. 

"Well that settles it- within a week they'll be married and living in Droitwich," Lorla said, shooting a grin at Cho. The others laughed. 

Cho didn't feel like grinning back, however. It wasn't that she thought Georgia's suspicions were true or anything- although one couldn't rule out the chance that Cedric _was _enamoured with her. It was the fact that she now had to admit to her feelings for Cedric. And she had to call them _feelings_, as well. When Georgia had said those words- 'I think Cedric might like me!"- Cho had felt an irrational surge of panic, anxiety, and even, yes, a bit of jealousy. The fact was that, no matter how much she felt for Cedric, the chances of him _ever_ feeling the same way about her were about as high as the chances of Lorla proposing to Fleur Delacour. Hundreds of girls all over the school were after Cedric- it wasn't as though she was any more special or attractive than any of them. 

It was best, she decided, to get over this very quickly and quietly. _Then no one will ever know I had a momentary, unlikely, utterly insane and yet at the same time, completely understandable, infatuation with Cedric Diggory. _


	7. Cedric the Pursuer

Just as Cho had thought, things around the school soon got back to normal. The next task was not until February, and the champions had months to prepare. Within a week after the first task, any insults directed at Harry were only voiced by the Slytherins, and Harry himself could not have looked happier about it. 

Cho, however, wasn't having the best time of it. Within the week after the first task, Georgia's crush on Cedric grew to an astounding level- she was utterly convinced that at any moment Cedric was going to sweep her up in his arms and profess his undying love to her. The more ludicrous Georgia got, the worse Cho felt. Georgia sat in the Ravenclaw common room at night, extolling the physical and emotional virtues of Cedric, reminding Cho that she herself had picked up the same things; she, Cho, had felt dizzy looking into those gray eyes, long to touch those broad shoulders, wished those strong arms could be wrapped around her. When Georgia sat there releasing hot air over her silly little schoolgirl's crush, it made Cho feel somehow degraded- as though her own feelings for Cedric had been nothing more than a silly little schoolgirl's crush.

But they had. Hadn't they?

Cho didn't know. It was hard to forget that, for the tiniest, isolated moment, she had seen _Cedric_. Not Cedric the Quidditch Star, not Cedric the Pretty Boy or Cedric the School Champion. Just him. Cedric. It was hard to forget that- and it was all the harder to forget the feelings she once held for Cedric. 

It happened that a little while after the first task, Cho was in the library studying by herself. Lately, anything was better than listening to Georgia describe the way Cedric walked, or talked, or breathed in and out. It was about ten o'clock when she decided to pack up for the night. Yawning, she collected her books together, shoved them in her bag, and exited the library. As she walked down the corridor, she absent-mindedly registered the sound of the library doors opening and shutting again behind her, but it wasn't until someone called out her name that she realised she'd been followed out of the library,

"Cho!"

She turned- to see not just _any_ someone, but _the_ someone- the one who had been on her mind for the past fortnight.

"Hi Cedric!" she called back, and then, hoping to avoid any conversation, turned and walked faster up the hallway. The last thing she needed when she was trying to get over Cedric was to have to talk to him. It was better to completely cut off contact with him until she was sure her crush- or whatever it was- was completely gone. 

No such luck, however. Cedric jogged to catch up to her. "Cho- wait up!"

__

Pretend you don't hear him, Cho thought. So she walked faster. Cedric broke into a run- Cho did too. She knew she was being stupid- she knew it must have looked weird, sprinting away from Cedric- bit she didn't care. She'd gone through enough trouble trying desperately not to think about Cedric and contact with him could ruin all the good work she'd done in getting over him. 

But Cedric was taller and faster than Cho- it wasn't long before he'd caught up with her. "Cho- stop, stop, stop-"

Cho gasped as he grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop and spin around, to face him. The look in his eyes was so startling she took a few steps backward. Cedric wasn't even puffed out, but his face was red. And his eyes were so…there was something in them Cho couldn't place, but for a moment she'd thought he looked hurt.

"Why are you running away from me?" he said frankly.

"I- I- what?" Cho said.

"Why are you running away from me?" he repeated, holding her gaze. Cho had to look at the floor.

'I'm sorry, I…didn't hear you." Cho said lamely, feeling her cheeks burn. _Good one, idiot_, Cho chastised herself. Now Cedric thought she was crazy _and_ a liar. She didn't meet his gaze, but, instead, still looking at the floor, she said, 'Well, sorry anyway Cedric, but I have a lot of work to do and I'd better get back to my common room."

"I'll walk you there," Cedric said lightly. 

"Okay, sure," she heard herself say, as her stomach twisted itself into knots. She braved a glance at his face as they set off towards the staircase as the end of the corridor. He was looking straight ahead, the muscles in his neck tense- he kept clenching and unclenching his fists as though he wasn't sure what to do with his hands. 

The silence stretched out awkwardly as they paced towards the staircase. Cho couldn't _stand_ awkward silences.

"Were you just working in the library?" she said, rather desperately.

"Yes," Cedric replied.

"For the tournament?" 

"No. Transfigs." 

"Oh." Cho said.

There was really nothing else to say. They walked in silence down the stairs, through the tapestry (which Cedric held open for Cho in a touching sort of way) and then up another, smaller staircase. They were nearly at the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room before Cedric spoke again. 

"Did you like it?"

"Like what?" 

He turned to look at her. "The tournament. The first task. Did you like watching it?"

Cho paused. How to answer without letting him know that watching him face that giant dragon had made her feel sick with fear? "I suppose so," she said slowly. She shoved her free hand in her pocket as she felt Cedric's eyes on her again.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know," Cho said, "I suppose…well, there was so much hype about it…and really, it was just watching four people nearly get massacred by dragons. I didn't like that. I don't like violence." She paused, waiting for Cedric's reaction, suddenly feeling quite calm. Cedric managed a smile.

"It wasn't too much fun for me either," he said dryly. They both laughed.

"I think you did very well." Cho said, as the laughter stopped.

"Really?" Cedric met her gaze earnestly.

"Yes," Cho replied, and she laughed again for no reason. 

"Hmm," Cedric said, flipping his hair out of his eyes. They had stopped at the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower. Cedric was looking at her again, and once again, his expression was completely unreadable.

"Well…thanks for…walking me here," Cho said. "It was nice talking to you."

"It's always nice," Cedric said, in a manner that was almost shy. Cho felt herself blush. She didn't quite know how to say goodbye- and to be frank, didn't _want_ to say goodbye. They looked awkwardly at the ground for a couple more moments. 

"Um….Cho," Cedric said finally, "there's something…I wanted to….ask you, I suppose."

"Yes?" Cho said, too quickly.

"I um, wanted to know if…um…" Cedric was having trouble looking at her face.

"Yes?" she prompted.

"I wanted to know if…" he paused, his mouth opening and closing but no words coming out, "if…if you've seen my cat." 

Cho tried not to let her disappointment show. "Your…cat."

"Yes. I've lost him. His name is Chunk."

"Chunk…the cat?"

"Yes. He tabby and fairly big- so if you see him wandering around the school…"

"I'll tell you, don't worry." Cho managed a smile, but she couldn't have felt worse. For a moment there she'd actually thought that Cedric was going to…_Honestly. How could you be so _stupid_?_

"Well, goodnight Cedric," she said, turning away.

"Wait-" Cedric said, "Please don't go." He took a deep breath. "That's not it. I _have_ lost my cat but that's not what I wanted to ask you."

Cho slowly turned around to look at him. "Okay."

He took another deep breath. "I sometimes go flying in the mornings. You know, around the Quidditch pitch. Just on my own.

Cho blinked in surprise. "Oh. That's nice." She paused. "So do I, sometimes."

"I know," Cedric blurted out. She looked at him, and he blushed. "I've seen you. You're a very good flyer."

"So are you," Cho said- not just because it was the right thing to say, but also because it was true.

"Anyway," Cedric said, and now he was staring at his feet more intently than ever. "I wanted to know if…if you'd like to join me."

There was a big silence. Cho struggled with the implications of what Cedric was saying. He didn't look up to meet her eyes- it looked as though he wouldn't dare to look away from the floor.

"Join you?" Cho managed finally, trying her hardest to keep her voice steady.

"Flying, I mean. We…we could go flying one morning. Together."

Cho opened her mouth, closed it, and then immediately opened it again. "Are you joking?"

Cedric finally looked up. The look in his eyes was unmistakable- pure sadness. "You don't want to." he said flatly.

"No! That's not it at all!" Cho cried. "Of course I would love to- if you really meant it, I mean-"

"I do," Cedric said, looking bewildered and hurt at once. "You think- I mean, I'm not- Cho, do you honestly think I would ask you if I didn't mean it?" The question was frank and endearing. 

"I- I…" Cho was at a loss for words. It wasn't that she thought he would do something like that- it's just that she couldn't think of any other reason _why_ he would ask her to go someplace. "I'm sorry," she managed lamely. "I guess I wasn't expecting it." She paused. "I would love to."

"Seriously?" Cedric said, looking at her searchingly. 

"Yes. Yes-" she said, and laughed. "You think _I _would say it if I didn't mean it?"

Cedric shook his head and laughed too. He was grinning again- and the thought that Cho had been able to bring that beautiful smile back onto his face made her stomach tingle in a funny way. 

"So…when shall we go flying, then?" she said.

"How about Saturday morning? Seven o'clock on the pitch?"

"Yes. It sounds great," Cho said, and found herself grinning too. There was another silence, but a different kind this time- not an awkward one but one in which they grinned at each other. It was an intimate silence, almost as though they were enjoying their special, private joke again. 

"Well," said Cedric," I'd better be-"

"Going, yes, me too," Cho said, with a nervous giggle. "Well…."

"Well..."

"Bye." 

"See you Saturday.

"Yes, Saturday."

"Bye!" Cedric said again, and, with a last grin, he turned and jogged off down the hall.

Cho leaned against the wall, feeling dizzy. What had she just gotten herself into? And what did he mean, inviting her out flying? It was hard not to jump to conclusions. How would she be able to stand the gap between now and Saturday, waiting for this…_meeting_ (she was reluctant to call it "date") with Cedric?

It would have been easier just to have pretended she didn't hear him. 


End file.
